JANUARY 30 — 1882 — Happy Birthday FDR; 1752 Happy birthday Gouverneur Morris; SUPER BOWL: 2000 Rams beat Tennessee in SBXXXIV, 1994 Dallas beats Buffalo in SBXXVII, 1983 Washington over Miami SBXVII, 1933 Lone Ranger debuts on TV
JANUARY 30
1882 Happy birthday Franklin Delano Roosevelt, #32. Born as the only child to a wealthy family in Hyde Park New York, FDR has general relations to George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams,. Martin van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Zach Taylor, Ulysses Grant, Benjamin Harrison, William Taft, and of course, his uncle Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin’s mom Sara Ann was the dominant figure in his life, hiring tutors and nannies to help. Some say Sara made little Franklin wear a dress until he was five. Uncle Teddy Roosevelt was also a huge influence in Franklin’s life while he attended the prestigious boarding school Groton, than later Harvard where he worked on the school paper titled The Crimson. He married his fifth cousin Eleanor Roosevelt on St. Patrick’s Day in 1905, and the two would have five children together. Franklin would then study law at Columbia; where he passed the bar but was more interested in politics than law. Although he greatly admired his Uncle Teddy who was a Republican, Franklin got into politics after attending Columbia as a Democrat.
FDR won the New York state senate seat against heavy odds in the Republican dominated Dutchess County, then was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He toured naval bases in Europe in 1918 when WWI broke out. As senator, FDR formed an alliance with Lewis Howe, who would be a great political advisor to him for the next 25 years. But Howe wasn’t the only alliance Franklin was forming. In 1914, he began a love relationship with Eleanor’s secretary Lucy Mercer. When Eleanor found out about the affair, she demanded he end it.
FDR agreed, but throughout the years kept seeing Lucy on the side. A successful politician and Democratic leader, he was named a candidate for the vice presidency in 1920 under James Cox. Cox however would lose the election, but FDR learned a great deal about political savvy as a result. Eleanor began speaking publicly on her husband’s behalf and organized the women’s division of the Democratic Party. He was gaining notoriety on a national scale. And then polio hit Franklin Roosevelt and hit him hard, leaving him paralyzed. With the help of Eleanor and their children, Franklin underwent physical therapy and indomitable courage, to try to regain control of his legs, but still could barely stand up using braces.
FDR would not be denied, and made a political comeback, becoming governor of New York. As governor he enacted many social programs, including the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration after the stock market crash of 1929. President Herbert Hoover and the Republican Party was taking heat for causing the depression, and FDR sensed a big opportunity for the White House. He ran for presidency, pledging a New Deal for the American public. He overwhelmingly won the election in 1932, at a time when 13M Americans were unemployed and almost every bank was closed. In his inaugural speech, he famously stated “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He pledged during his first 100 days a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in jeopardy of losing farms and homes, gave speeches that were broadcasted on the radio on a regular basis, held his fair share of press conferences, and passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act, which reopened a majority of banks within a week. By 1936, America had seen some recovery; the Gross National Product rose up 34% and unemployment went down from 25 to 14%. However Roosevelt’s New Deal was criticized by businesses, particularly when he took the nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget. Republicans criticized him for taking the country in a socialistic direction, so Roosevelt responded with more reforms, including Social Security, bigger taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and a work relief program for the unemployed.
He was reelected president to his second term, defeating Kansas governor Alfred Landon. But his controversial policies plagued his administration, especially by trying to pack the Supreme Court with justices that favored his reforms. As a result, Republicans won majorities in Congress after midterm elections, and although FDR’s abilities to pass more legislative reforms came to an end, the government was still legally regulating the economy.
Meanwhile, back at the White House, FDR enjoyed fruit cake, pancakes, fish, cabbage and sweet potatoes with roasted marshmallows. Yum. He also loved dogs, in fact once served hot dogs to the King and Queen of England, which went well until his dog Major bit British Prime Minister Ramsey McDonald on the leg. He also enjoyed the company of one of the most famous pets in White House history; a black Scottie. He had the first air conditioner installed, met with the press 998 times, had a yacht named Half Moon, loved playing poker, smoking cigarettes, and listening to his favorite song Home on the Range.
This useless trivia brings us to FDR’s unprecedented third term and WWII.
Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the “good neighbor” policy, stepping away from the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America. As a result, he beat Republican Wendell Wilkie by 6M votes. He confronted Japan and Germany, who wanted to take control of Asia and Europe, respectively. He provided aid to France and England. When the Germans captured France, FDR sent all possible aid short of military support to Great Britain.
Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and all bets were off the table. America joined the Allies in WWII. Japanese Americans all over California and the west coast were forced to quit their jobs and sell their homes in preparation for transportation to internment camps. FDR passed the Lend Lease Actand met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Russian leader Josef Stalin. In 1944 the Allies controlled the momentum in the war, and he worked with them to organized the United Nations in order to settle international disputes. But FDR’s health began to rapidly decline. Nonetheless, he won his fourth term as president, defeating Thomas Dewey. But the stress of the war and other health problems took its toll on FDR, and upon his return from the Yalta Conference which established the UN, he was too weak to stand while addressing Congress and had to sit. He left to his cottage in Warm Springs GA, where he had undergone physical therapy since being hit with polio. On April 12, 1945, he suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and died later that day.
Harry Truman would take office shortly thereafter. Though Americans knew he was ill, the news was shocking and the world was unprepared. He was 63 years old, and was buried at Hyde Park. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. “People who are hungry and out of a jobs are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” Every time an artist dies part of the vision of mankind passes with him. Happy birthday, Franklin!
2000 Super Bowl XXXIV won by St. Louis over Tennessee 23-16 – Kurt Warner threw for 414 yards and 2 TDs – hold off Titans on final possession short of the goal line
1752 – Happy Birthday Gouverneur Morris, quite possibly the most interesting Founding Father.
He first coined the phrase We the People of the United States. That’s an easy sentence to say; at first the Constitution began with We the People of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and so on in order of the 13 colonies from north to south. Morris shortened it to We the People of the United States.During the American Revolution, young Morris’s family was split. He had a half-brother named Lewis Morris who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and another who was a British general.
His own mother turned against him and for a brief time he was homeless. Gouverneur’s was named after his mother, and his wealthy father Lewis Morris Sir sent young Gouverneur to King’s College at age 12. Yeah, one of those kids. Now it’s Columbia U. In 1775, he was elected to represent the family estate in Westchester County, now the Bronx, in the compilation of Patriots looking to move New York City towards Independence.
While he was at it, later on in life, Gouverneur would literally shape Manhattan as an early city planner, sand wrote “Straight-sided and right-angled houses are the most cheap to build, and the most convenient to live in.” He wasn’t fit to serve in active duty during the war since an accidental with boiling water left his arm burnt to a crisp and a carriage accident smashed one of his legs to pieces, he was declared unfit for duty and would serve his patriotic purpose in the legislature. Serving in Continental Congress, the Senate, and the Constitutional Convention Morris would deliver 173 speeches in the latter, more than, right in front of 2nd place James Wilson at 163 speeches and 3rd place James Madison with 161 speeches.
Gouverneur Morris went after the ladies, one-legged and all. Author Richard Brookhiser, Morris was able to use that peg-leg to his advantage whether he was white-water rafting, climbing buildings, and shake his peg leg while dancing with other women. Many of them were married women. John Jay is has reportedly said he wished Morris would’ve lost something else. George Washington sent Morris to France as a delegate, where supposedly had an affair with novelist Comtesse Adélaïde de Flahaut, the wife of a Count, and then get this, shared her with Charles de Talleyrand, who sold the Louisiana Purchase to the United States.
France at the time had a huge uprising, and being the courageous diplomat that he was Morris refused to evacuate Paris during the bloody Reign of Terror. As time went on, Morris would separate himself from President Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the Democratic-Republicans, and was so opposed to the War of 1812 he suggested secession from what he considered the ruling southern states, After living most of his life a bachelor chasing other men’s wives, Morris finally settled down at age 57 when he married 35-year old Anne Cary Randolph, just call her Nancy.
What was really weird about her is that she and her brother-in-law Richard Randolph supposedly had a child together and she was accused of killing the baby, though she called it stillborn. During the trial Patrick Henry actually defended Randolph. Nancy would finally give her new husband a baby when Morris turned 61 years old. But gout would get the best of this Founding Father who led a very unique life. A urinary tract blockage caused him so much pain he tried to use whalebone as a catheter and died from internal injuries. He died November 6, 1816, in exactly the same room he was born, and is buried there in the Bronx.
Happy Birthday Gouverneur!
1994 — Super Bowl XXVII won by Dallas over Buffalo 30-13 – Dallas rushed for 137 yards and Emmitt Smith had 132 of them for 2 TDs
1983 — Super Bowl XVII won by Washington over Miami 27-17 – John Riggins MVP – ran for 166 yards on 38 carries
1933 – Lone Ranger debuts on Detroit radio